Violence in the Workplace—a Global Problem

By Gustavo Capdevila, IPS, 20 July 1998

GENEVA, Jul 20 (IPS)—Earning the daily bread can cost not only
sweat, but also physical integrity, health, sexual privacy—and
even life itself, says the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in
a new report on violence in the workplace.

The study says outbursts of violence occurring at workplaces around
the globe suggest that this issue is truly one that transcends the
boundaries of a particular country, work setting or occupational
group.

But some workplaces and occupations, like taxi drivers, health care
workers, teachers, social workers, domestics in foreign countries, and
people working alone, especially in late night retail operations, are
at higher risk than others of experiencing such violence.

Women are particularly at risk, because so many are concentrated in
the high-risk occupations, particularly as teachers, social workers,
nurses, and bank and shop workers.

Both workers and employers show a growing recognition that
psychological violence is a serious form of violence, including
bullying or mobbing—in other words, group psychological
harassment.

The study, drafted by Duncan Chapell and Vittorio Di Martino, is based
on a survey carried out in 1996 by the Rome-based UN Inter-Regional
Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI).

The survey, carried out in 32 countries, found the highest rates of
assaults and sexual harassment on the job in France, Argentina,
Rumania, Canada and England.

In the United States, some 1.000 killings take place in job settings
every year. Homicide has become the leading cause of death on the job
for American women, and the second leading cause for men.

The ILO said the study was aimed at promoting dialogue, policies and
initiatives to repudiate violence and eradicate it from the workplace.

In the survey cited by the ILO, 11.2 percent of men and 8.9 percent of
women in France reported that they had been subjected to assault over
the past year.

In the same period, 19.8 percent of the women consulted in France
reported sexual incidents.

In the same survey, 6.1 percent of men and 11.8 percent of women
consulted in Argentina had been the objects of assaults in the
previous year, while 16.6 percent of women reported sexual incidents.

A European Union survey based on 15,800 interviews carried out in the
same period in the bloc's 15 member states estimated that in 1995,
four percent of workers—around four million—were subjected
to physical violence.

The same survey indicated that two percent—three million - had
been subjected to sexual harassment, and eight percent—12
million—to intimidation and bullying.

The ILO says violence in the workplace stems from a combination of
causes that includes the individual, the work environment, working
conditions, the way in which co-workers interact, the way that
customers or clients interact with workers, and the interaction
between managers and workers.

Study author Di Martino said we reject the idea that the sole
reason for workplace violence stems from the individual. We will never
succeed in either preventing further violence or dealing with violence
after it occurs by moving solely on that premise.

The ILO points out that violence brings changes in interpersonal
relations, the organisation of work and the job setting in general,
while employers pay the direct cost of the work lost and the need to
improve security measures.

There are also indirect costs, says the study, including loss of
efficiency, productivity, quality, company prestige and clientele.

Another study by the U.S. National Institute on Security in the
Workplace found that the total cost of violence in the workplace in
1992 amounted to four billion dollars.

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